Capital spent on the enterprise's equipment, buildings and working capital counts toward the investment, provided it is Dale's own money contributed to the new commercial enterprise and placed at risk. What does not count are fees, and the amount must meet the threshold that applies to the site.
Investment means capital in the enterprise, not the cost of paperwork
The investment is the capital Dale contributes to the new commercial enterprise, and the enterprise's spending of that capital on land improvements, pens, a feed mill, trucks and operating cash is the ordinary way the money is placed at risk and generates jobs. The threshold is US$1,050,000 unless the site is in a targeted employment area, where it is US$800,000, and a rural county that meets the statutory definition may qualify; the designation should be confirmed rather than assumed, and the amounts checked at filing because they adjust. Money spent on lawyers, economists, business-plan writers and USCIS filing fees is not investment and must be budgeted on top.
Capital must also remain at risk through the conditional period, so a plan to withdraw it once the pens are built undermines the case. If the operation is financed partly by a bank loan secured on the feeding operation's own assets, that borrowed money is not the investor's capital. Filing and biometric fees are listed in the USCIS fee schedule, Form G-1055.